Disability Rights Leader Kathleen Martinez Tells Her Story

Kathleen Martinez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, tells her personal story of the influences in her life that shaped her to become a national leader for disability rights. Her story is the second in a series entitled “Meet the Women of the Administration” from the White House blog.

Martinez says in the post that she wanted to work in the federal government because, “if I were in federal service I could have a broad impact on laws and policies that could improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities like myself. “

Earlier this year, Martinez and the ODEP partnered with key federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration to find solutions to improve employment for people with disabilities by listening to what the public had to say about disability priorities.

“I realized the power that collaboration brings to making a difference in people’s lives and it was clear to me that the people providing comments to us believed that too. I realized that by hosting these listening sessions we had given a voice to a huge cross section of our constituency which includes people with disabilities, family members, service providers and allies from the public and private sector…Good jobs for people with disabilities serves as the gateway out of the poverty trap allowing us to contribute to the economy and strengthen our nation.”

Read more about Kathleen Martinez, her life and her life’s work.